The Germans were Zombies come to life, the Russians portray a druggie she is trying to rescue but instead she falls into his drug world. The Canadians were sloppy in their FD, D&W also have work to do on their FD, but I think it has potential - the music is beautiful.

I thought he was insane and she tries to bring him back and in the process loses her sanity??

That's what I read too , originally... I suppose the drug scenario would make more sense than madness , but it's no more appealing IMO..this ain't drama , it's MELODRAMA ..and I frankly needed a longer rest from it.

Here's a photo done by a friend of mine (he's a freelance photographer and he took this one for Reuters) of one of D/W's lifts in the free dance. Their lifts in this program were the highlight for me. Yes, they were not perfect, but are people really expecting an instant masterpiece this early in the season?

I think we'll see some great improvements by NHK. More comments later.

I think they do and I don't understand why. I guess D/W spoiled us last season with their Die Fledermaus debut at SA which was an instant masterpiece and probably one of their best performances of it the whole season. But that isn't the norm. Their Samson & Delilah which many people think is their best FD to date had many problems during the season with multiples falls....but by the time worlds came around many thought they should have won the night and grab at least bronze. Their tango routine was reworked and changed a number of times (including the music to the circular step mid season)...and they deservedly won worlds that year. I think that they have set such a high standard (along with V/M) in dance that we expect everything they touch is gold...sometimes you have the polish it a bit before it shines.....that's what V/M did last year with Funny Face and it won them gold....so lets not be too hasty people....and I like it....needs work but so does every FD we have seen so far for the season.....

Their SD is great...again not perfect, but I love it.....head and tails better than their last two SDs which were good but nothing special...It won't be as revolutionary as their Bollywood but it can become another D/W signature dance.....

So as promised, here are my notes from the FD, as written from the arena:

Cannuscio/McManus 74.39, 122.37: Not bad, good effort. They were good at getting levels on their lifts and had some fun ones, but they could have performed with a bit more energy, especially since it was a rock 'n roll FD.

Alessandrini/Vaturi 75.38, 125.74: This team has great lifts. I don't care what Tonia K says, I enjoyed their cool second lift -- where she does a handstand on his skate. But I guess it's not very "The Artist," I suppose. This team is fun with a lot of charisma. That said, they were not crisp and had some rough edges and could use some more speed.

Zhiganshina/Ghazi 80.27 132.57: This team was definitely the most entertaining with their zombie dance -- Zhiganshina has the BEST facial expressions! Unlike the SD, they did a better job expressing the zombie theme thoughout the whole dance. The judges definitely gave them higher PCS --but TES was actually lower than Cannuscio/McManus.

Krienekrairut/Giuletti-Schmitt 87.52; 141.41- This Adele program works. Despite being he most overplayed music ever, this team made a beautiful dance out of it. The lifts were the highlight of this dance. Loved their choreographic lift at the end. I think they are in the running for that third U.S. spot.

Weaver/Poje 91.53, 157.32 - This program is beautiful and got good audience response, but this program was full of little mistakes including a bobble on the twizzle, some blunders on the step sequence, etc. Again, they can generate some good speed, but they clearly had to cut it back to focus on the tech. I was not surprise at the score.

Bobrova/Soloviev 97.04, 159.95 -- As I said in other posts, this program is dramatic, but not OTT. They have some great ice coverage and even their twizzles were improved. She reverts a little to her bad posture, but for the most part, they are very much improved.

Davis/White: 104.89, 176.28 -- WOW -- first rotational lift! Best lift of the night, and the judges agreed with mostly +2 and +3 in GOE. Charlie had the obvious bobble in the twizzle, but otherwise I enjoyed this program and so did the audience --they got a standing ovation. The other lifts were pretty awesome too, like the one in my friend's photo. Yes, they had a low BV, but they executed those elements quite well -- and they had great speed as well. I think they have plenty to room to grow with this dance and make it better. No, it's no DF --but as I said it's a bit much to expect they will have it perfect at the first competition of the season.

cas... I agree about the straight jacket , and I think the topic is intended to be madness . Just meant that in the world as we know it , the reversal would be less far-fetched if it was drugs.. but I feel pretty burned out with either topic , anyway.